Vapochill or reference HSF 5870.

[Kalabalana]

Been looking around the net for info on decibel levels on the 5870 reference design and the vapochill design and was wondering how large the difference is.

I know how loud the 3870x2 can be, and I want a card that is quieter. Would I have to go for the vapchill? Or will the reference HSF suit me fine on the 5870?

 

[Elmy]

The stock HSF will be just fine. But the last 2 cards Ive ran with air cooling ive taken them apart and used an aftermarket thermal paste like Artic Silver and lowered my temps at least 5 - 10 degrees celcius. Im now using watercooling and loving it. The temps at idle are about the same with aircooling but after gaming for a few hours my temps are 10-15 degrees lower than they were with aircooling.

If your going to overclock it you will need to turn the fan up higher and of course gets louder. But ive never been able to hear any fans when I have my headset on gaming.

Here is a video I made if your interested named aircooling vs watercooling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23Rlt2z2zQY&feature=channel

Im not a professional at all. Its something I kinda threw together when I was bored one day.

 

[Kalabalana]

I don't actually plan on overclocking, and temps don't matter as long as they are within acceptable levels and performance remains the same.

I imagine though, if the card is loud, applying new thermal paste reducing the temp 10 or more degrees should allow the fan to work at a lower rpm, ie. less sound (alsoe allowing ocing down the line when the card does start to fall behind).